The Gulf County Citizens Coalition is concerned that dredging without proper data, oversight, and mitigation plans in place could be destructive to our current natural-resource based economy. 

 

Background
In 2014, sediment testing was performed along a proposed commercial shipping channel in Saint Joseph Bay. In 2023, another sediment analysis was completed for dredging related to a proposed Eastern Shipbuilding dry dock.

The channel dredging project is approved and the dry dock project is under consideration for millions of dollars of grant money managed by Triumph Gulf Coast.
 

• The paper mill existed for 60 years and produced 25-30 million gallons of wastewater per day, much of it ultimately deposited in the bay.

• After 22 years of operation, mill consultants reported an eleven-foot-thick layer of waste along the bottom of the bay. Discharge of additional material and contaminants continued for at least another 14 years.

• Even when the wastewater was diverted to a treatment plant, it was never tested for dioxins and other paper mill toxins.

• Currently, the contaminated sediments are sequestered under a layer of silt and sand deposited since the mill’s closure. Dredging may expose the toxins again.

• The mill was operational when the harmful effects of many toxins were relatively unknown and unregulated.

 

Why we are concerned 
    1.  Paper mill toxins are dangerous to human health

Dioxin is the chemical in Agent Orange that caused numerous health issues for Vietnam Veterans. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ranked 9th by the CDC as chemicals threatening human health. Both these chemical groups are known to be produced during the paper milling process and are:

• Highly toxic

• Insoluble in water

• Adhere to sediments

• Last for decades in the environment (Dioxin’s half-life is over 100 years)

• Last for years in the body of animals (Dioxin’s half-life in humans is 11 years)

 

  2.  The toxins are present today
The sediment reports from 2014 and 2023 confirm that these contaminants are present. 25% of the samples taken in 2023 had Dioxin levels so high that if the sample had been taken on land, a house could not be built there.

 

  3.  The core samples are truncated

• The sediment sampling plan called for the sample cores to extend to the full proposed dredging depth. None of the cores did so. The average was 70%, and some only reached 40-50% down.

• The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) tells us that the truncated samples likely contain all the toxic layers, so they are unworried about the missing feet of the sample. However, they could give us no relevant data on which they base this statement. The actual depth and location of the toxins deposited during the mill’s operation is not known.

 

  4. Toxin levels that will be exposed to the marine environment are unknown

• Each core sample was sent whole to the laboratory not divided into sections. This sampling methodology cannot tell us how far down the toxic layers are located within the core. Hence, we do not know if dredging will remove the toxins entirely or remove the upper uncontaminated sediment layers and leave toxins exposed to the marine environment. If it is the latter, toxin levels will be higher than what the laboratories have reported due to the diluting effect of the uncontaminated sediments mixed in the sample bucket.

• The 2014 data for the proposed shipping channel dredging is over 10 years old and unreliable due to Hurricane Michael's significant rearrangement of the bay floor, including the mill toxins. Additionally, we discovered a 1000-fold underreporting of dioxin levels due to a mathematical error in decimal point placement. This data was not corrected for the Environmental Assessment.

 

  5. Oversight for the environment is lacking

• There is no requirement for a full Environmental Impact Study before dredging is performed. Instead, a less in-depth Environmental Assessment (EA) is accepted. 

• The FDEP tells us they only oversee the proper handling of the dredged material deposited as spoils on land, but they are not mandated (in fact, they are not allowed) to address the risks posed by toxins left exposed in the marine ecosystem.

 

Recommendations

• The sediment testing should be repeated to the full dredging depth plus one foot. This added foot should be separated from the main core as Sample B to represent the sediment that would be left exposed. Sample B should be analyzed to determine if the toxins that will be left exposed are at dangerous levels to human and environmental health. 

 

Update

We have alerted the Army Corps of Engineers, FDEP regulatory and scientific branches, environmental scientists from area parks, preserves, and estuaries, and our Gulf County Board of County Commissioners that the data we have can not be utilized to accurately predict levels of toxins in the dredging spoils or in the exposed marine sediments post dredging. All of the scientists agree that our recommendation is the only way to obtain the data needed to be assured we will not expose St. Joe Bay to the paper mill toxins that are currently safely buried. 

 

Our group has obtained a quote of approximately $64,000 to retest the sediments correctly. The BOCC has told us they can not write this $64,000 into their $126,000,000 (Yes, that is 126 MILLION) grant application for the floating dry dock because they followed FDEP requirements when testing.  

 

We are concerned that ignoring inaccurate data for the relatively small dry dock dredging would set a precedent with FDEP for allowing the much larger channel dredging to proceed, which has even less reliable data.

For primary data sources and additional concerns with sampling, see Learn More on this website.

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Projects We Support

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Gulf County Citizens Coalition believes the projects listed here move us forward in the direction we should be going, balancing economic growth with preserving the lands and waters of Gulf County.

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Gulf County Ecology and Environmental Education Center

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Background

The fast pace of growth in our county is both exciting and alarming. While the desire for good jobs and economic opportunities is a priority for many, it should not supersede the need to preserve our current natural resource-based economy and our responsibility to hand on a healthy Gulf County to the next generation. 

 

This goal of preservation while we continue to grow can be most easily accomplished by educating residents, decision-makers, and tourists in an exciting and engaging way. The wonder and awe of our marine and freshwater ecosystems seen up close in an educational aquarium or ecology center can not fail to inspire proactive and dedicated guardians of the future. 

 

It is this vision of altering attitudes long-term that has led us on our journey to becoming a 501c3 non-profit. Our goal is to raise funds and write grants for this proposal and other educational endeavors. This project is in its earliest planning stages; we need volunteers! Contact us if you want to be part of the team.

 

Why we support this project:

 Knowledge leads to understanding, understanding leads to appreciation, appreciation leads to connection, connection leads to caring, and caring leads to preservation.

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Such a facility would provide:

 

  1. A place for our children to enjoy fun local activities while learning about our environment.

 

  2. A site where young people can take a step toward exciting inspirational careers.

 

  3. A way to encourage day-tourists from surrounding counties to spend their money here.

 

  4. A stage to present our community as a place that values the waters and wildlife around us.

 

  5. A catalyst to encourage  non-polluting sustainable growth.

 

  6. A central location for scientists, volunteers, students, teachers, and agencies to coordinate and complement efforts to study and preserve our delicate and unique environment.

 

  7. A venue for our growing population of seniors to enjoy when they might have to curtail more strenuous recreation. 

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